Rutherford National Bank, Rutherford, NJ (Charter 5005)
Town History
Rutherford is a borough in Bergen County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States census, the borough's population was 18,834. Rutherford was formed as a borough by an act of the New Jersey Legislature on September 21, 1881, from portions of Union Township, based on the results of a referendum held on the previous day. The borough was named for John Rutherfurd, a U.S. Senator who owned land in the area.
In the 1870s, the area began to be called "Rutherford". The definitive reason for the change in spelling of the final syllable from "furd" to "ford" is unknown, though the change may have been the result of name recognition of the Ohio politician Rutherford B. Hayes, who was elected President in 1876, or could have been because of a clerical error by the United States Postal Service. The Post Office opened a facility called "Rutherford" in 1876. On September 21, 1881, the Borough of Rutherford was formed by formal vote of secession from Union Township. By then, the community had about 1,000 residents.
Rutherford has been called the "Borough of Trees" and "The First Borough of Bergen County", and is known as well for its pedestrian-focused downtown area adjacent to the borough's Bergen County Line (New Jersey Transit) railway station.
Rutherford had one National Bank chartered during the Bank Note Era and it issued National Bank Notes.
Bank History
Rutherford National Bank, Rutherford, NJ (Chartered 1895 - Closed (Merger) 1996)
- Organized May 3, 1895
- Chartered June 17, 1895
- Bank was Open past 1935
- For Bank History after 1935 see FDIC Bank History website
- Changed name to National Community Bank of Rutherford, 1970
- Merged into The Bank of New York in New York City, December 1, 1996
- The Bank of New York and J.P. Morgan Chase swapped assets in 2006, with the Rutherford and other former NCB locations becoming Chase Bank branches.
A.L Watson and Cook Conklin were the first promoters of the new bank and through the aid and efforts of R.D. Kent, cashier of the Passaic National Bank, carried the idea through to a propitious beginning for the Rutherford National Bank. [NOTE: a featured biography is available for Robert Downey Kent.] On Thursday, May 16, 1895, the directors of the Rutherford National Bank perfected their organization by electing A.L. Watson, president; Henry R. Jackson, Sr., vice president; Robert D. Kent, cashier; Henry R. Harden, bookkeeper; and Wm. B. Barkley, counsel.
On Sunday, December 8, 1895, Rutherford was visited by a disastrous fire. Three 3-story buildings including the Rutherford National bank were destroyed and two lives lost. The big safe was taken from the ruins of the McMains building on Depot Square and opened. The contents were in good condition. Cashier Henry R. Harden said that the safe contained $6,000 in cash, and bank and private securities amounting to about $2,000. On the 26th, the directors appointed a building committee to adopt plans for a new structure. The plot of ground at park Avenue and Glen Road, 91 by 103 feet, was purchased from Dr. A.S. Brinkerhoff, and a white granite or Indiana limestone building to face on both streets was planned. The bank had been a tenant in the McMains Building destroyed by the fire. The bank took temporary quarters in the building owned and occupied by A.L. Watson, Rutherford's leading real estate man.
In 1896, the board of directors consisted of Mayor E.J. Turner, A.L. Watson, F.P. Poor, Peter Kip, W.H. Smith, Carl von Hartz, J.P. Cooper, William McKenzie of East Rutherford, and W.W. Van Winkle. The officers were H.R. Jackson, president; R.D. Kent, vice president, and Henry Hardin, cashier. William Barclay was bookkeeper. In April 1896, it was announced that the new bank building would cost in the neighborhood of $15,000 and be built of brown stone.
The Copeland and Luce building, East Rutherford, situated directly opposite the Erie depot was burned to the ground about four o'clock the morning of January 21, 1897. The building was formerly the office of the Rutherford National Bank. The entire loss will amount to $400 and was insured for nearly that amount. Incendiarism was suspected as the origin of the fire.
On Tuesday, January 11, 1898, stockholders re-elected the following directors: H.R. Jackson, R.D. Kent, Julius Roehrs, E.J. Turner, Carl von Hartz, A.W. Van Winkle, Peter H. Kip, J.P. Cooper, William McKenzie, A.L. Watson, and F.B. Poor.
In June 1901, Edward J. Turner, Rutherford's ex-mayor, succeeded Robert D. Kent of Passaic, who, owing to other business, resigned as vice president. Cashier Andrew H. Brinkerhoff was made a director.
On Tuesday, January 15, 1902, at the annual election of officers, Mayor Edward J. Turner succeeded Henry R. Jackson as president. Mr. Jackson was the unanimous choice, but declined re-election. Mr. A.H. Brinkerhoff, the cashier, was elected as second vice president; Mr. John Ward of McKenzie & Ward was elected first vice president. These gentlemen would take the places on the board formerly held by Messrs. Kent and Poor.
In May 1924, the Rutherford National Bank occupied its new home at the corner of Park and Ames Avenues, estimated to cost close to $300,000. On Saturday, May 3, 1924 it was moving day in Rutherford when the old building at the corner of Park and Glen Road was closed and the securities, money, and all paraphernalia were taken out under the protection of members of the Rutherford Police Department and brought into the new bank. The erection of the new building started about two years earlier. It followed the purchase of the old frame structure at the corner facing Station Square, originally known as the Vreeland Building. It was mostly used as a grocery and was one of the oldest buildings in town. The new bank was 44 feet wide by 102 feet deep and 40 feet in height. The foundation was supported by concrete reinforced with steel piers of which there were a hundred or more ranging in depth from 12-20 feet. This was necessary due to quicksand which was discovered after digging the foundation. The building was of lime and sandstone and the inside was of marble and bronze. Four massive columns ornamented the outside of the building. The old building became the new home of the Rutherford Mutual Building and Loan Association which purchased it.
In November 1926, at a meeting of the board of directors of the Rutherford National Bank and the Bergen County Bank, it was decided to merge the two banks under the name of the Rutherford National. The directors of the Rutherford National also voted to double its capital and add $200,000 to its surplus effective January 1, 1927. The Rutherford National Bank was incorporated in 1895 and was the second oldest bank in Bergen County, the Citizens National Bank of Englewood being the first organized in Bergen. The officers and directors of the Rutherford National were: E.J. Turner, chairman; F.S. Dickenson, president; M.V. Becton, vice president; J.K. Watson, cashier; C.A. Rodenburg, assistant cashier. The directors were M.W. Becton, J.H. Bowen, F.S. Dickinson, Charles Hasselhuhn, E.J. Turner, J.K. Watson, William Black, W.T. Cooper, William Elliott, M. Trubek, A.W. Van Winkle, and Dr. B.P. Willis. Of the Bergen County Bank, the officers were William Black, president; R.A. Brunner and M.W. Becton, vice presidents; J.M. Hare, cashier. The officers and employees of the Bergen County Bank would remain the same upon joining the Rutherford National.
The Rutherford National Bank made the following acquisitions and changes:
- 01/02/1970 Acquired The Bank of Sussex County (545) in Franklin, NJ.
- 04/01/1973 Acquired National Union Bank of New Jersey (6327) in Dover, NJ.
- 02/07/1975 Changed Institution Name to National Community Bank of New Jersey.
- 07/02/1979 Acquired Arcadia National Bank (21421) in Secaucus, NJ.
- 01/01/1982 Acquired Allaire State Bank (20995) in Wall Township, NJ.
- 01/01/1982 Acquired The Mainland Bank (20664) in Linwood, NJ.
- 09/07/1993 Changed Institution Name to The Bank of New York National Association.
- 08/08/1994 Main Office moved to 385 Rifle Camp Road, West Paterson, NJ 07424.
- 03/10/1995 Acquired Carteret Federal Savings Bank of New Jersey (33749) in Madison, NJ as part of a government assisted merger.
- 12/01/1996 Merged and became part of The Bank of New York (639) in New York City, NY.
- 2006 The Bank of New York and J.P. Morgan Chase swapped assets in 2006, with the Rutherford and other former NCB locations becoming Chase Bank branches.
Official Bank Title(s)
1: The Rutherford National Bank, Rutherford, NJ
Bank Note Types Issued
A total of $2,824,490 in National Bank Notes was issued by this bank between 1895 and 1935. This consisted of a total of 331,110 notes (261,984 large size and 69,126 small size notes).
This bank issued the following Types and Denominations of bank notes:
Series/Type Sheet/Denoms Serial#s Sheet Comments 1882 Brown Back 4x5 1 - 7375 1882 Brown Back 3x10-20 1 - 3340 1882 Date Back 4x5 1 - 8032 1882 Date Back 3x10-20 1 - 5499 1902 Date Back 4x5 1 - 1250 1902 Date Back 3x10-20 1 - 1000 1902 Plain Back 4x5 1251 - 25235 1902 Plain Back 3x10-20 1001 - 15450 1902 Plain Back 3x50-100 1 - 565 1929 Type 1 6x5 1 - 5168 1929 Type 1 6x10 1 - 2394 1929 Type 1 6x20 1 - 690 1929 Type 1 6x50 1 - 284 1929 Type 1 6x100 1 - 84 1929 Type 2 5 1 - 10014 1929 Type 2 10 1 - 5904 1929 Type 2 20 1 - 1488
Bank Presidents and Cashiers
Bank Presidents and Cashiers during the National Bank Note Era (1895 - 1935):
Presidents:
- Henry R. Jackson, 1895-1895
- Henry R. Jackson, 1897-1901
- Edward James Turner, 1902-1925
- Fairleigh Stanton Dickinson, 1926-1935
Cashiers:
- Henry R. Harden, 1895-1899
- Andrew Hopper Brinkerhoff, 1900-1908
- John Kenneth Watson, 1909-1934
- A. P. Luscombe, 1935-1935
Other Bank Note Signers
- There are currently no known Vice President or Assistant Cashier bank note signers for this bank.
Wiki Links
- New Jersey Bank Note History
- General information on Rutherford (Wikipedia)
- General information on Bergen County (Wikipedia)
- General information on New Jersey (Wikipedia)
Sources
- Rutherford, NJ, on Wikipedia
- Don C. Kelly, National Bank Notes, A Guide with Prices. 6th Edition (Oxford, OH: The Paper Money Institute, 2008).
- Dean Oakes and John Hickman, Standard Catalog of National Bank Notes. 2nd Edition (Iola, WI: Krause Publications, 1990).
- Banks & Bankers Historical Database (1782-1935), https://spmc.org/bank-note-history-project
- Passaic Daily News, Passaic, NJ, Sat., May 18, 1895.
- Passaic Daily News, Passaic, NJ, Wed., Dec. 11, 1895.
- Ridgewood Herald-News, Ridgewood, NJ, Fri., Dec. 13, 1895.
- Passaic Daily News, Passaic, NJ, Sat., Dec. 28, 1895.
- Passaic Daily News, Passaic, NJ, Thu., Apr. 2, 1896.
- The News, Paterson, NJ, Thu., Jan. 21, 1897.
- Passaic Daily News, Passaic, NJ, Thu., Jan. 13, 1898.
- Passaic Daily News, Passaic, NJ, Thu., June 13, 1901.
- The Record, Hackensack, NJ, Wed., Jan. 15, 1902.
- Passaic Daily News, Passaic, NJ, Mon., May 5, 1924.
- Passaic Daily Herald, Passaic, NJ, Sat., Nov. 6, 1926.